F1 will stick with current flexi front wing tests

No changes will be made to front wing flex tests used in Formula 1 despite 2024’s minor hubbub over flexing wings, according to FIA head of single-seater matters Nikolas Tombazis.

In response to a query made by Ferrari and Red Bull in 2024 concerning the flexibility of the front wings belonging to other teams, mainly McLaren and Mercedes, the FIA placed monitoring cameras on cars from the Belgian Grand Prix and beyond.

This was not with a view to changing the regulations in the short term, but as part of a fact-finding mission to determine what it should do with future iterations of the rules.

In the meantime, the FIA had declared that it had no issue with the McLaren and Mercedes wings; as long as they passed the flex tests, then the governing body was happy.

But Tombazis explained that the difference in loading between each front wing on the grid made it difficult for the FIA to create a one-size-fits-all test to clamp down on any exploitation of aeroelasticity.

“We are pretty happy with what we’ve seen,” Tombazis explained in an exclusive interview with Autosport. “I hasten to say that it’s not a question always of being happy or not.

“It’s also a question of whether you feel that a meaningful test can be made.

Ferrari SF-24 front wing detail

Photo by: Giorgio Piola

“One of the challenges in the front wing is that, compared to other parts of the car, the front wing loading is much more varied between cars in a given location and so on.

“So most tests relate to the load of a certain direction, certain position of application, certain magnitude must not produce a [certain] deformation.

“The most successful such tests imitate as much as possible what happens in real life with loads and, on the earlier wing for example, it’s reasonably successful. On the front wing, the variety between cars would make that quite difficult.”

Tombazis added that there had been no changes to the front wing flex tests since the current regulations were introduced in 2022 and, as part of that, it was not going to change tack for 2025.

Ferrari is already understood to have developed its own version of a flexing front wing over 2024, and this is also an opportunity afforded to Red Bull if it has not already created its own variant.

“Obviously, there was a lot of hoo-hah about it during the summer and early autumn,” Tombazis added.

“We had made it quite clear to teams since 2022 at least, that we were not planning to introduce any further tests on the front wing and we stuck to that.”